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Paul Magee drove his way to a Super Challenge win in Peru. (Perry Bennett)View Full Size

PERU, Ind. (July 7, 2014) – Paul Magee, of Troy, Ohio, had what it took to win the Super Shootout at The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo Peru Match Tour held at the Grissom Areoplex. The Ladies Shootout was won by Crissy Weaver, of Beavercreek, Ohio.

Conditions were perfect for competition, with temperatures in the low 80s each day. The Indianapolis Region hosted the event, which featured very challenging courses for each of the 171 entrants. Many cones were hit, so a driver who put in a clean lap had a good chance of winning.

On Saturday, the traditional class competition wrapped up early. That allowed some time for fun runs. Drivers were given the opportunity to make four extra runs in the opposite direction they had run the course during competition.

Magee (F Modified, www.95customs.com KBS Mk. 4) began his run as one of the top eight drivers from Saturday’s Group Three. As the result of the customary random draw, Youngers was matched up against Chris Miller (C Prepared, Ford Mustang Turbo) in the opening round of the head-to-head bracket. He took the victory and moved onto the next round.

“Competing in bracket competitions is one of my favorite parts of Solo, and I feel it really suits me well,” Magee said. “I knew this one would be particularly challenging because this area of the country is the home to some of the fastest A, B and C Modifieds in the country -- and many of them were in my heat!”

Magee took Brandon Lavende (C Modified, Van Diemen RF89) out of the competition during the second round. That moved him to the Heat Two final against Will Lahee (F Modified, Mowtini Racing Red Devil). He came out the other side as the winner, earning him a spot in the three-way Super Shootout final.

“Each matchup in the bracket was very difficult, but matching up against Will Lahee again was toughest,” Magee said. “He is really figuring out the new car and had laid down a killer run during the prior round.”

Also earning positions in the Super Shootout final were Sam Strano (Super Street R, StranoParts.com Chevrolet Corvette), from Heat One, and Aaron Miller (A Street Prepared, Mitsubishi Evo 8 RS), from Heat Two. In the final bracket there was a combined nine National Championship held by the drivers involved, with Strano having seven by himself.

The overall winner of the Super Shootout was decided following a final timed run from each driver. Magee took the win after setting a time closest to that of his dial-in.

“This was a very meaningful win,” Magee said. “It was a very challenging course, and I was matched up against some exceptionally challenging competition. It's a great group of people and I enjoyed the company as much as the competition. Definitely one I won't forget.

“I would like to thank Jeff Blumenthal for perpetually providing his knowledge, resource and assistance. Most importantly, I would like to thank Lisa Holdren. She is my partner and is by my side every step of the way. This would absolutely not have been possible without her.”

In the Ladies Shootout, Weaver (Super Street R Ladies, FattBoyz of Dayton/Muffler Pros Chevrolet Corvette) won an opening-round battle against Stephanie Reeve (Street Modified Ladies, G-Fab Racing Nissan 240SX). In the semis, Weaver took down Lin Cox (Street Touring Sport Ladies, Mazda Miata). That moved her ahead to a final battle with Kate Regganie (Kart Modified Ladies, Honda) for the title. Weaver pulled out the win and took home the trophy.

“Roberta Wetzel and I were ready to pack up after our elimination heat on Sunday morning but Kent [Weaver] & Jeff [Wetzel] wouldn't let us leave!” Weaver exclaimed. “We figured any extra runs we got were bonus seat time.”

When I saw I was paired with Stephanie [Reeve], in Panda, I figured I'd be going home after first round. But I was able to win and my next opponent was driving a shifter kart! I was yelling across grid for tips from Sam [Strano] on how the heck to beat that thing. I got lucky.”

Kenneth Tsang, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, took home the Club Shootout victory in an all-Detroit Region final. He was able to beat multi-time National Champion Matthew Braun (Street Touring R, Power Plug Mazda MX-5).

“I had made the Club Shootout in Wilmington in April,” Tsang said. “In the first round, I hit the last cone on the course and threw away a large improvement that would have otherwise moved me to the next round. I didn't want to make that mistake again, especially on the penalty-heavy course that we had at Peru.

“My last three runs in the LCQ were all within about a tenth of each other so I knew that I could at least stay close to my dial-in, which would give me a decent shot because the shootouts really reward consistency. With those things in mind, I tried to drive fast without taking big risks in places where it was easy to hit cones and was able to run right on my dial-in for almost all of my runs.”

The next stop for The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Match Tour is slated to go off at Miller Park, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Aug. 16-17.

Additional information, including full results, for The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Peru Match Tour can be found here. More on the entire Tire Rack SCCA Solo program is available at www.scca.com/solo.

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